Brightest Wild (Tania Crampton-Larking, Lothian)
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Brightest Wild, by Mirning woman Tania Crampton-Larking, was a winning manuscript in the 2019 black&write! Fellowships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers. It tells the story of 12-year-old Alex,...
Brave in Every Which Way (Maddy Mara, illus Lauren Degraaf, Affirm)
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Brave in Every Which Way by Maddy Mara (aka Hilary Rogers and Meredith Badger, who also produced Itty Bitty Kitty and The Greatest Mistakes That Went Right under this same...
The Grapevine (Kate Kemp, Hachette)
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
As summertime scorches Canberra and the 1970s draw to a close, a severed foot is discovered on the mountain behind Warrah Place. When it’s identified as belonging to Antonio Marietti,...
Diary of a Marine Biologist (Anita Thomas, illus Sarah Wilkins & Anita Thomas, Walker)
Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Did you know that oysters are often called the kidneys of the ocean because they filter a bathtub’s worth of water every two days? Or that marine biologists play a...
The Library of Bears (Cat Rabbit, Berbay)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
The Library of Bears, the fourth book by textile artist and designer Cat Rabbit (How to Make Friends: A Bear’s Guide), reassures children that while trying new things can be...
Ten Ways to Find Love … and How to Keep It (Lisa Portolan, Echo)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
Lisa Portolan’s Ten Ways to Find Love … and How to Keep It explores the idea that pursuing love in the digital age is not just about finding love but...
Wonders Under the Moon (Tai Snaith, T&H)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
When the sun goes down, weird and wonderful night-time creatures come out to play. Tai Snaith’s new reference picture book, Wonders Under the Moon: A Collection of Night-Time Creatures, features...
All the Colours of the Rainbow (Rae White, illus Sha’an d’Anthes, Lothian)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
In All the Colours of the Rainbow, Jem sometimes wants to wear their yellow dress with blue sandals and sometimes blue jeans with orange sneakers. The story invites readers into...
When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole (Geoff Parkes, Penguin)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
Set in Aotearoa New Zealand, Geoff Parkes’ debut crime novel, When the Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole, is a twisting thriller that explores the shadows that lurk behind the...
Those Opulent Days (Jacquie Pham, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
At first glance, Jacquie Pham’s debut novel, Those Opulent Days, might appear to be a classic whodunit murder mystery, except the true ‘villain’ is far from the usual suspect. Set...
Women of a Certain Courage (ed by Bron Bateman, Fremantle)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
In this compelling anthology, 18 women from diverse backgrounds challenge traditional notions of what it means to be courageous. Edited by Bron Bateman (Of Memory and Furniture), Women of a...
A Piece of Red Cloth (Leonie Norrington, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, Djawa Burarrwanga & Djawundil Maymuru, A&U)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
The best fiction allows the reader to enter times, cultures and places otherwise inaccessible. Children’s fiction writer Leonie Norrington was commissioned by her adoptive mother, Yolŋu woman Clare Bush, to...
Somebody Down There Likes Me (Robert Lukins, A&U)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
Somebody Down There Likes Me begins with a limousine pulling up to a defunct gas station near a United States ghost town, setting an apt tone for a novel that...
The Humongous Humdingle Family and the Tiny House (Michelle Wilson, illus PJ Reece, EK Books)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
In The Humongous Humdingle Family and the Tiny House, Michelle Wilson introduces readers to the eight human members of the multi-generational Humdingle family, and their many pets, who all live...
Jungle Escape (Nathan Luff, Walker)
Tuesday, 3 December 2024
Jungle Escape is the latest middle-grade title by Nathan Luff, author of Bad Grammar and the Family Disasters and Nerd Herd series. This stand-alone novel is filled with comedic mishaps, deliberate misunderstandings, and...
The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress (Sue Williams, A&U)
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
The latest, standalone historical fiction from Sue Williams, The Governor, His Wife and His Mistress, is a prequel to her bestselling and critically acclaimed novels Elizabeth & Elizabeth and That...
Three Boys Gone (Mark Smith, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Award-winning writer Mark Smith is a familiar name on the young adult shelves, with his acclaimed Winter trilogy finding its way onto school lists nationwide. Venturing into fiction for adult...
A New Day (Emmaline Carroll Southwell, illus Heather Dryden, Affirm)
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
The opening lines of A New Day, Emmaline Carroll Southwell (Our Family Pledge) and Heather Dryden’s bright and hopeful picture book, immediately give readers a sense of security: ‘Today’s a...
Gustav Glows with Gold (Kathy Creamer, illus Patricia Ward, Little Pink Dog)
Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Kathy Creamer, co-founder of indie children’s publisher Little Pink Dog Books, lovingly introduces upper-primary readers to the captivating work of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt in her creative nonfiction picture book...
The Serpent Rider (Yxavel Magno Diño, Bloomsbury Children’s)
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Inspired by Filipino folklore, Yxavel Magno Diño’s debut novel, The Serpent Rider, is a mesmerising middle-grade fantasy. All Tani wants is for her bakunawa egg to hatch so she can...
The Pool (Hannah Tunnicliffe, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
In Hannah Tunnicliffe’s latest novel, The Pool, a motley group of southside Melburnians meets for a summer party. The young families are connected through work and children, but they’re not really...
That Island Feeling (Karina May, Macmillan)
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Set on a sleepy, scenic Australian island and featuring oysters, wine and flirty banter, That Island Feeling is the summer romance book for 2025. The novel follows Andie and her...
Panic (Catherine Jinks, Text)
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Modern society is well versed in the evils of social media. From cyberbullying and trolling to revenge porn and deep fakes, there is no end to the new and horrifying...
Under the Sand (Millie Lewis, illus Marina Borkun, Five Mile)
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
A little girl named Elizabeth is digging on the beach for lost treasure when her spade hits something solid, and she ‘crie[s] out with pleasure’ … ‘What could it be,...
The Paradise Heights Craft Store Stitch-Up (Kate Solly, Affirm)
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Remember the easy warmth, dry humour and cosy storytelling of Kate Solly’s Tuesday Evenings with the Copeton Craft Resistance? Well, she’s done it again with The Paradise Heights Craft Store...
Cruel Is the Light (Sophie Clark, Penguin)
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
In a world both familiar to and hauntingly different from our own, the Vatican Empire has waged a centuries-long war with demons across Europe. After a series of unprecedented attacks...
Figuring Out Thirty: Decoding the Decisive Decade (And What Really Matters) (Bridget Hustwaite, Penguin)
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Bridget Hustwaite (How to Endo) is well known as an author and podcaster for her valuable insights into women’s health. Her latest book, Figuring Out Thirty: Decoding the Decisive Decade...
Saturday, Sunday (Natalie Kate Forbes, illus Danny Snell, Affirm)
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Weekends are so busy for families, with the competing demands of sports and activities, seeing friends and extended family, shopping for the week and more. Saturday, Sunday captures this frantic...
Unfinished Business (Shankari Chandran, Ultimo)
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
The first in Miles Franklin–winning author Shankari Chandran’s Ellie Harper political thriller series, Unfinished Business mirrors the themes of the author’s past books (Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, Safe Haven):...
The Worst Perfect Moment (Shivaun Plozza, Walker)
Tuesday, 5 November 2024
The Worst Perfect Moment is a dark comedy about finding yourself and finding the good in the bad. After dying in an accident, 16-year-old Tegan is ushered by Zelda, a...
